Anthropic PBC has signed a seven-year, $11.6 billion computing agreement with Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ: AKAM), the latest move in the Claude developer's continuing expansion of data center capacity.

The contract covers computing power and could grow by another $9 billion before the seven-year term ends. If Anthropic exercises the full expansion option, the total value would rise above $20 billion. Akamai announced the agreement in an official press release.

Akamai's stock reacted quickly. Shares jumped 17% in late Thursday trading to $130. The Anthropic contract also builds on more than $2.8 billion in multiyear Cloud Infrastructure Services commitments that Akamai had already announced from other customers this year, covering infrastructure used to build, launch, and run large AI workloads.

Akamai gives Anthropic a path to nearly 5% ownership as cloud spending rises

The agreement is not limited to servers and computing capacity. Akamai has also issued Anthropic a warrant tied to a possible equity stake in the company.

The warrant covers non-voting convertible Series B preferred stock equal to 7.7 Akamai common shares after conversion. If fully exercised, the position would represent about 5% of Akamai's outstanding common stock. The exercise price is $111.33 per common share. The structure ties Anthropic's potential equity upside directly to how much it actually spends with Akamai over the life of the agreement.

The first part of the equity package is tied to the deal already announced. Stock equal to roughly 2% of Akamai's outstanding shares is expected to vest as a result of Anthropic's initial $11.6 billion commitment. The rest depends on how much further Anthropic expands its cloud purchases: another roughly 3% stake could vest if Anthropic spends an additional $9 billion with Akamai during the seven-year warrant period. Every additional $3 billion in cloud services bought under terms agreed by both companies would unlock a further amount equal to about 1% of Akamai's outstanding common shares.

To support the original contract, Akamai expects to spend about $5.5 billion in capital expenditures, along with roughly $1.7 billion in additional capital spending during 2026. Some of these funds will go toward securing critical hardware ahead of time. Akamai intends to pre-buy supply chain components, such as memory, before the need for increased computing power arises. The company does not expect the new contract to affect its 2026 revenue guidance. The figures are an illustration of how capital-intensive large AI computing contracts are to fulfill, with spending front-loaded ahead of the new capacity coming online.

Akamai co-founder and CEO Dr. Tom Leighton said, “Anthropic is advancing the AI revolution and we are thrilled they chose Akamai's capabilities for building and operating AI infrastructure at scale.” Leighton added that Akamai's global network and experience working with large companies position it to handle AI applications and workloads that require security and large amounts of computing capacity.

Anthropic seeks founder voting control while preparing for a possible IPO

The Akamai deal comes as Anthropic is also reshaping how control of the company could work ahead of a possible stock market listing. The Information reported Thursday that Anthropic wants shareholders to approve a structure that would give CEO Dario Amodei and his six co-founders 50.1% of total voting power.

The proposal would create a separate class of shares for the seven founders, allowing them to vote together on most major corporate matters. The arrangement would continue as long as at least three of the seven founders keep a required minimum amount of Anthropic shares.

The proposed governance structure is similar to the system used by Peter Thiel at Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR), where founders retain special voting rights to maintain control despite ownership dilution. One major restriction is that the special voting rights would not apply to Anthropic's board elections. Anthropic currently has seven board seats, one of which is unoccupied. The company is also considering the introduction of another special class of stock aimed at giving employee shares the role of breaking corporate vote ties.

The governance changes come as Anthropic prepares for a possible IPO that could become one of the largest ever. The Claude developer could wait until after the U.S. midterm elections in November before moving forward with the offering. Reuters reported earlier this month that the election itself is not expected to have a major effect on the IPO process. Terms approved before a listing would shape how much influence outside investors have once Anthropic's shares trade publicly. The checkpoints ahead include shareholder approval of the founder voting structure, whether Anthropic exercises the additional $9 billion option with Akamai, and the eventual timing of an offering.

Anthropic entered the year with an unusually large private-market valuation. The company raised $65 billion in May, giving it a $965 billion post-money valuation.

Source: Cryptopolitan